In the first plenary session of the fifteenth legislature since Malta's independence, numerous MPs spoke and made public their personal and their parliamentary group's main priorities over this five-year term.

While parliamentarians from the Labour Party's side of the House spoke about being given the electoral mandate to fulfil its electoral programme, the Nationalist Party MPs on the Opposition side said that the people voted them to serve as the government's opposition and that they will uphold this duty to the best of their ability.

This discussion kicked off through speeches by the respective parties' deputy leaders: Alex Perici Calascione for the PN and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Ian Borg for the PL.

Borg said that the electorate voted for the Labour Party's electoral programme and went over several key areas that PL governments prioritised over the previous three legislatures, saying that its ability to implement on targeted areas contributed to retaining the general public's trust to remain in power.

Here he made reference to infrastructural projects related to roadworks, including the Marsa junction project, the Kappara junction project, and the Central Link project, as well as some major accomplishments, achieved over the end of the last legislature, that weren't even pledged in the PL manifesto, such as the returning of Manoel Island and White Rocks as public land, away from private concessions.

Borg said that having "stable, affordable, and clean energy remains atop the government's agenda" as warfare in the Middle East, like other conflicts near Europe's borders, has contributed to global energy crises.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the PL's programme for this five-year term focuses on the people "in a wide sense," rather than on, for instance, infrastructure or economics.

Borg said that the PL administration "will be there for them at every stage of life" through its measures. This will range from IVF, other assistances for expecting families, and providing families with more time together at the earliest stages, to continuing to raise pensions for the elderly - as the government has done every year for the past 13 years, he noted.

He continued that further assistances will be provided to help people become homeowners and that such schemes will be widened to reach a wider variety of people across the Maltese islands who require access to such incentives. Alongside youths, such schemes will also be open to adults going through a separation, for example.

Borg also mentioned the dubbed "super bonus," as was popularly promised during May's election campaign, for those in the workforce, as well as the financial measure for many youths to be tax-exempt from the first €30,000 of earned annual income.

From the Opposition's end, PN deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione gave his first address as an MP. Calling this a personal moment of "great honour and responsibility," the Opposition MP remarked that when he was young, he learned that, to succeed in politics, "it's important to remain humble and to keep listening."

He also said that having goodwill and keeping one's integrity intact goes a long way for all politicians, especially when faced with strong adversity.

On behalf of the PN Opposition, Perici Calascione spoke on the principles upon which he, and he hopes other MPs, goes about their parliamentary business for this term.

Sharing a lesson he learned from former minister Guide De Marco, he said that "in life, you must fight for what you believe in, for what you believe, with strong conviction, is good for the country."

He mentioned the need for MPs from both sides to always seek convergence, even when it doesn't seem to be on the horizon, and to remember that "arguments and dialogue can go hand-in-hand."

"If we can do this and stop our personal egos from getting in the way, then politics can work as a service rather than us using it to be served," he said.

Perici Calascione told those present in the House of Representatives on Monday that they will be actively hurting Maltese society if they, through their actions and decisions, weaken the values of what is acceptable and what shouldn't be. He said the same for all instances of intentional abuse of power.

Addressing members of the general public, he stated that if the democratic process doesn't result in their beliefs being enshrined, then they should know that, at the very least, the Parliament's democratic processes will see that their opinions were recognised during discussions.

He concluded that "our precious children will be the ones to experience the fruit of our decisions" - for better or worse - and called for all parliamentarians, over this legislature, to discuss matters together without bringing the level of discussion within the Chamber down.

Many other MPs from both sides spoke for the rest of the plenary session, including some maiden speeches from first-time MP Fleur Abela. Before these speeches commenced, Cressida Galea was officially sworn in as an MP after she swore the oath of loyalty.

Among the other speakers, government MPs and ministers spoke about government's ambition to promote people's quality of life. Romilda Zarb said that "this means health services that remain among the best in Europe" and even cited the wellbeing index measure as a means for the government to analyse how every implemented measure is affecting people's quality of life.

The Minister for Youth, Wellbeing and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme, Omar Farrugia, dedicated part of his speech to expressing support for Maltese diplomats, particularly Vanessa Frazier, for a recently publicized UN discussion that went south after she received personal attacks from an Israeli diplomat.

The Youth Minister noted that far too many children are becoming victims of war crimes through ongoing warfare, particularly in the Middle East. He affirmed that "international law is not à la carte" and that "military action should not be forced onto an entire nation of people."

"For us to act as a voice for children must never be misinterpreted as being against an entire nation. We must say clearly that every line has been crossed in attempts to justify violence," Minister Farrugia said.

Later on during the plenary, PN MP Adrian Delia commended Farrugia for mentioning these subjects during his intervention.